Stylistic and narrative innovations in Norman McLaren’s works

Abstract

This article is an attempt to theoretically comprehend the legacy of the famous canadian animator Norman McLaren, who worked in the field of abstract animation for many years, from his student days in the 1930s to the late 1970s. Apart from a brief creative sketch, this article includes two main sections devoted to the genesis of image and plot in McLaren's works – both animation and «photographic» ones. McLaren wanted to create entirely new film canon, based equally on abstract and realistic basics. Summarized, McLaren works are pivotal in the context of the evolution of avant-garde animation, both in the construction of imagery and in the rehabilitation of narrative, previously almost entirely excluded from the realm of absolute film. McLaren's many years of creative activity are evaluated as a unified ethical and aesthetic doctrine. Along the whole article various critical approaches to his work being observed and analyzed.